


Cravings

by anxiouslowercase



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Zatanna (Comics)
Genre: Batanna AU, Bruce Being a good dad, Domestic Fluff, F/M, and a good partner, this is a happy AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-05
Updated: 2020-10-05
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:01:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,478
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26841091
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anxiouslowercase/pseuds/anxiouslowercase
Summary: Zatanna has a random craving, Alfred is out doing grocery shopping, and Bruce just tried to help (and was lied to by the internet)
Relationships: Bruce Wayne/Zatanna Zatara
Comments: 2
Kudos: 21





	Cravings

**Author's Note:**

> Hello there! So this is yet another prompt that I took from tumblr - I wanted to make you cookies, but they turned to shit but you’re still eating them anyway. This is an AU in which after a long long time of pining and dismissing feelings, Bruce and Zatanna finally got together and they're actually expecting! This is brand new territory for Bruce and, let's be real here, he never was too good in the kitchen. Still, it's the intention that counts (right?)  
> Thank you to the always lovely @achinghcarts on tumblr for reading and supporting this shot!  
> Hope you enjoy it!

"Alfred?" A female voice calls out through the halls, worry clear in her tone. "Is everything alright? I thought I smelled fire and--" she cuts herself off the second she puts a foot in the kitchen and, instead of finding the ever-present British butler, she's greeted by a much wider and definitely _younger_ back; she arches an eyebrow. "Bruce?" And only at the mention of his name he does turn around, a look of surprise on his face. However, it is very short-lived.

"Zee?" Immediately dropping the spatula in his hand he dashes towards the woman, concern written in every crease on his face. "What happened, do you feel alright, are you hurt?" He gingerly pats along her arms, cups her face and smooths her hair looking for any sign of trouble, despite her raised arms in a clear sign of surrender.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," she quickly reassures him, taking his hands and giving them a loving squeeze. "I just thought I--"

"Why are you out of bed, is something wrong?" The man cuts her off, his voice taking a protective tone as he moves to touch the small yet quite present bump on her belly. "Do you feel sick, should we call Le--?" But she is the one to interrupt him right back, a bright chuckle escaping her lips.

"I'm _fine_ you sweet worrywart." She stands on her tiptoes in order to peck him, thus preventing any other stream of interrogation from pouring. "I'm out of bed because _I'm fine_ and mostly because I smelled something burning." And with that, Zatanna leans to the side to spy the kitchen behind her fiancé.

Thankfully, nothing is actually _on fire_ , and all in all the room looks pretty organized and clean. For a moment, she wonders if maybe Bruce had _just_ arrived there, maybe looking for a snack, and that her nose had just betrayed her this time around. However, it only takes her an extra second of examination to spot the corner in which the man had _clearly_ been for a while - a small army of mixing bowls, several tins and a bunch of utensils were scattered on the marble countertop, most of them covered or at least smeared with batter in different solidification states. Taking another step into the room, she manages to see that nearby there's a big oven tray which has steam a bit too opaque to be mere warmth. _So maybe her nose wasn't all that wrong._

"What exactly did Alfred do to you, for you to take it out on his kitchen like this?" Zatanna asks, amused. Bruce, on the other hand, glances back to his 'working space' looking slightly embarrassed. She thinks it is quite adorable.

"Nothing, it's just..." He scratches the back of his neck and takes some tentative steps towards the mysterious tray, not looking too convinced. "Alfred's out, and you mentioned you had a cookies craving, so..."

And true enough, once the dark haired woman got close enough, she could distinguish that what she'd considered batter was actually different types of dough, and that the tray held nothing but a big batch of what appeared to be regular chocolate chip cookies - that is, if the cookies were supposed to be massive, flat and with black edges. Normally, such a sight would've taken a good laugh out of her, maybe grant him some teasing remarks about his culinary abilities, but right this moment, her eyes merely fill with tears. She's _so_ blaming the pregnancy hormones.

"You _made_ cookies for me?"

"I did some research online and they didn't seem too complicated, so I figured even I could-- Zee?" He interrupts himself at the sound of a gentle sniffle, his body immediately taking a more active and defensive stance, ready to sprint either to the hospital or to call the doctor. However, before the usual questionnaire of well-being could start, his fiancée throws her arms around him, holding him in a tight hug that almost makes him lose his balance. His worry quickly mixes with surprise as she starts openly crying against his chest. "Hey, sweetheart, what's wrong?" The first response he gets is a small sob that, honestly, just adds to his overall sense of stress - something that although was a constant since he'd learnt of the pregnancy, obviously tended to increase by a tenfold whenever Zatanna showed any sign of hurt of even slight discomfort. So yeah, her straight up _crying_ was a good enough reason to have his fingers itching. "Does anything hurt, did something happen?" Faintly, he can feel her head moving against his body, quite possibly shaking in denial.

"N-no I j-ust" _hiccup_. Were hiccups normal, was this one too loud? "I just can't believe y-you act-tually made m-" _hiccup_. No, yeah, it has to be fine. Even babies have hiccups before they're born. It's fine. "Made me co-okies." And another sniffle, as if to punctuate the statement. She pulls away, and Bruce can see the tip of her nose is endearingly red; his shoulders relax and he smiles, wiping away a rebel tear with his thumb.

"Hey, that's fine, no need to cry - I won't force you to eat them," he actually jokes because, come on, the kitchen hardly has the same smell as it does when Alfred is the one in charge of the cookies. That is a big telling sign already. And though he does manage to make Zatanna chuckle at that, she also shakes her head again.

"No way, I-I'm gonna e-eat them," she states, pulling away from him and wiping the salty trails on her cheeks before moving closer to the tray. "What kind o-of girlfriend wou-uldn't?"

"One that takes her health seriously?" He offers, but only receives a half-hearted glare. Knowing better than to argue with Zatanna (with a _pregnant and hormonal Zatanna_ , at that,) Bruce ends up sighing and turning around to look for a plate in which to put the cookie attempts. Not that he should've really bothered, anyways.

Without really waiting for permission, the woman cracked a piece of cookie from the tray and promptly gave it a bite as she dragged a stool closer to the counter. It would be a lie if she said it tasted better than it looked.

Truth is that the baked good had definitely turned into a _burnt_ good and... Not even all that of a _good_. There were way too many chips which apparently had formed some sort of a solid plaque at the bottom of the cookie, which had taken most of the burnt flavor. Besides that, Zatanna could taste an excess of cinnamon, something akin to salt (yes, her overstimulated taste buds said _salt_ ) and she's quite sure the bit into a small piece of eggshell. There was no point of comparison with Alfred's version of the recipe, for sure. Hell, she's certain that even a packet of supermarket biscuits past their best before date would taste better. And yet, she doesn't cough (or, well, she _almost_ doesn't,) and she keeps chewing for a good ten seconds before swallowing that first bite. It isn't necessarily better, but she still smiles a little.

Bruce is still holding the china plate with his jaw hanging open.

"What are you--?"

"I'm gonna need cream," she cuts him off before he can start scolding her, as she knows he was probably going to. "Lots of it. I asked Alfred for a can yesterday, so there should be one in the fridge." She sniffles one more time, picking at another piece of cookie and giving it a nibble, much to her boyfriend's shock. "You should also bring blueberry jam if there's any and-- oh! Is there any more of the vanilla delight ice cream? I could crush some of these and-- oh! Or i could make ice cream sandwich!"

And, in all honesty, Bruce Wayne _really_ wants to snatch the tray of cookies away from her. He wants to tell her she's absolutely _insane_ for not only being willing to put such a mix of unhealthy things in her stomach but also for _going ahead and doing it anyways_. He wants to pick her up, take her upstairs and order her some nice chicken soup to feed her and keep her warm. But instead, he smiles. He smiles and, after leaving the china on the counter, turns around to collect every single one of the things she's asked for while she keeps throwing little pieces of cookie in her mouth. Because, in all honesty, who could deny her anything when she smiled so bright, when her eyes all but _literally_ sparkled? Who could possibly contradict a woman who loved you so much she would eat an entire tray of awful-tasting cookies? Not him, that was for sure.

Besides - this could very well give him an excuse to schedule an early doctor's appointment.


End file.
